WO 91/17728 discloses a male incontinence product of the above-mentioned type. The incontinence product comprises a penile sheath, or “body portion”, which is delivered to the user in a rolled-up configuration, in which the penile sheath is rolled-up to form a proximal collar portion. During use, the sheath forms a tight fit around the user's penis. Optionally, an adhesive is provided on an inner surface of the sheath. The cavity formed by the sheath communicates with a distal drainage portion, or “drainage tube”, of the incontinence product to allow urine to flow into a urine collecting bag. Compared to the penile sheath, at least a distal tubular part of the drainage portion has a relatively large wall thickness, so as to enable connection thereof to the urine collecting bag. The drainage portion may comprise a funnel-like part forming a transition between the sheath and the distal tubular part of the drainage portion. The urine collecting bag does not normally form an integral part of the incontinence product and is usually provided as a separate entity to the user. During use, the urine collecting bag may conveniently be fastened to one of the user's legs.
FIG. 1 illustrates a male incontinence product 100 of the above type, arranged in a prior art package 102. The package comprises two foils of a plastics material, which are torn apart at one of two end zones 104 when the package is to be opened. In the package, the incontinence product is stored in a ready-to-use configuration with a distal tubular end portion 106 coextending with a bellow-shaped connecting portion 108 and with the penile sheath rolled up to form a proximal collar portion 110. It will hence be understood that the drainage portion comprises the distal tubular portion 106 and the bellow-shaped connecting portion 108. The package may be generally opaque, as illustrated in FIG. 1, with a transparent window 112, through which the incontinence product 100 is visible from the outside. The dimensions of the package of FIG. 1 may vary with the specific dimensions of the product accommodated in the package. Generally, the package measures 8-10 cm by 10-15 cm and has a thickness of 3-5 cm.
The prior art package of FIG. 1 is rather space consuming, as the incontinence product, unlike a contraceptive, features the above-mentioned longitudinally extending drainage portion. Additionally, the package has a tendency to crackle when handled or even when simply accommodated in a user's pocket. For these reasons, the package of FIG. 1 is not as discrete as sometimes desirable. It is therefore an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a combination of a male incontinence product and a package therefor which is discrete, and which occupies less space than prior art packages. It is a further object of embodiments of the present invention to provide such a combination, which is convenient in use, and which may be manufactured at reasonable costs. It is a still further object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a combination of a male incontinence product and a package therefor, which method allows for automated and cost-efficient packaging, and which results in a combination of an incontinence product and a package overcoming at least some of the disadvantages of prior art packages.